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Long long ago, in the kingdom of Lunaris, there lived a young prince, a young cat with the most beautiful purple fur, named prince Cathrinus.
Though, due to his sleepy nature, everyone called him the nickname of Catnap.
Over the years, the young prince was always an introvert.
He’d much rather stay locked away in his room and do things like read or draw than go outside, which always confused his parents, the castle staff, and the citizens of the kingdom.
If he weren’t forced to come out of his room for things like family dinners, baths and the occasional royal event like parties, balls or the Lunarian games(basically their version of the olympics), nobody would even know what the prince looked like.
The only one that seemed to understand him was his best friend and personal assistant, the one and only Dogday.
Ever since they were children, Catnap had always trusted the dog deeply, and listened to him before anyone else. He had always kept him safe, and the two enjoyed each other’s company, whether it was talking, reading together, or just hanging out in Catnap’s room, they were practically inseparable.
Since the prince had recently turned 18, the two queens had discussed with Catnap that it was about time for him to be married.
They were not going to live forever, and they wanted the kingdom to be in good hands when they eventually passed on.
But, of course, Catnap didn’t WANT to get married, and expressed this to them.
And so the queens offered him a deal.
They would hold a special Lunarian games in which women(And men, they knew he went both ways) could compete in elimination-based rounds for his hand, but HE would get to choose the contestants.
Begrudgingly, Catnap accepted, knowing his fate was inevitable, but feeling better knowing that who he would soon marry wasn’t completely out of his control.
Still, he was upset.
That evening, when Dogday walked to Catnap’s room to bring him his nightly tea and cookies, he heard crying coming from his friend’s door.
He gently knocks on it.
“Sire?”
He says. “May I come in?”
A moment later, he hears a faint “yes…”
Dogday opens the door, walking in.
He sees the prince sitting on his bed, his face wet with tears.
He sets the tray down on the bedside table, then sits next to Catnap on the bed.
“What’s wrong…?”
He says, gently rubbing Catnap’s shoulder.
Catnap rubs his eyes, sniffling.
“I don’t want to get married.”
He says.
“I-I know my parents say that I can choose who I’ll marry… but still…”
He sighs.
“All the people who compete in the games will probably be total strangers…”
Dogday nods, understanding.
“It’s just… I don’t know what to do…”
Catnap says. “The games are coming up in a few days…”
Dogday then smiles.
“Well, my prince…”
He says. “I have an idea that you might like.”
Catnap looks him in the eye.
“What is it?”
Dogday gently takes his hands.
“I’m planning to sign up for the competition.”
He says with a smile.
Catnap blushes a bit.
“W-what?!”
Dogday giggles.
“I’m gonna compete for your hand.”
He says. “That way, if I win, you won’t have to marry a complete stranger.”
Catnap tears up again, but not from sadness.
“Y-You’d really do that for me?”
Dogday smiles gently.
“Yes of course.” He says. “I care about you more than anything…”
Catnap tackle hugs him, making him jump. “Oh thank you thank you thank you!”
He says, burying his face in his shoulder.
Dogday holds him gently.
“You’re welcome.” He says.
“And don’t worry, after we marry, nothing has to change.”
Catnap goes cold.
“W-what…?”
He says, pulling back.
Dogday smiles.
“Nothing has to change for us if you don’t want it to.”
He says. “I’ll still just be your friend.”
Catnap looks down.
“O-oh…”
He says, looking sad.
Dogday noticed the prince seemed upset, his smile fading.
“Hey, what’s wrong…?”
Catnap sighs, looking into his eyes.
“Dogday…”
He says.
“Do… Do you love me?”
He asks.
Dogday blushes.
Catnap waits for his answer.
Eventually, Dogday sighs softly.
“Yes.”
He says.
“Catnap, I love you.”
Catnap’s eyes sparkle, blushing.
“I’ve had feelings for you for years now, but I never got the courage to tell you, cause… I thought we’d never be together.”
Dogday says. “I always thought that since you are royalty and I’m not, there was no chance that we could be together… let alone a chance that you would fall for me…”
He smiles softly. “But when the opportunity to sign up for the games came up, I thought maybe I should ask you if I could.” he says.
“That way, we could always be together, even if you don’t love me… so I could protect you.”
He smiles at Catnap gently.
“But… Do you feel the same?”
He asks, hopefully.
Catnap takes Dogday’s face in his hands, kissing him softly.
Dogday jumps a bit but kisses back happily, gently taking hold of Catnaps wrists.
The moment was magical, the two gently kissing each other for what they hoped would last forever.
But alas, eventually they had to pull back.
“Yes, Dogday…”
Catnap says, looking deeply into his sparkling eyes.
“I love you more than the sun in the day and the moon in the night.”
Dogday laughs happily, hugging him.
“Thank 1006…” He says. “I was so worried you’d reject my idea, and maybe have me exiled…”
Catnap kisses his cheek softly.
“Never, my love.”
He says.
After more hugs, kisses, and discussion of the plan, the two lovers fell asleep in each other’s arms, assured that their plan would hopefully work.
~The next morning~
Dogday was up bright and early after the wonderful night he’d had, immediately heading to the kingdom’s battle arena to sign up for the Lunarian gladiator games.
When he got there, he noticed that almost every young man and woman in the entire kingdom, and even some from other kingdoms, was there to sign up as well.
“Boy, the competition’s gonna be tough…”
He says, getting in line.
When he gets to the front of the line, he’s given a few documents about the rules and a signup sheet to send back in once it’s completed.
.
Once he’s out of the line, he starts to read the rules to himself.
“The Lunarian games will consist of 8 contestants, all of which will be hand-chosen by the prince from the applications sent in.”
Dogday smiles, knowing that Catnap would choose him.
“Once the candidates are chosen, on the day of the games, the contestants will compete in 3 rounds.”
He reads.
“The first round will be knowledge based. All 8 contestants will compete in sets of 2, to see who knows more about the prince. If you win, you go on to the next round.”
Dogday smiles. He’s known the prince his whole life, so that will be the easiest round.
He continues reading.
“The second round will be a test of strength and dexterity. The remaining 4 will compete in a javelin throwing contest, and the two that come in first will move onto the final round.”
Dogday nods. “I can do that.”
“The third and final round will be an all out fight to the not-death between the last two contestants.
The two will stand on a platform above water with foam swords, and fight each other until one of them is knocked off. Then the last contestant standing is the winning champion, who will marry the prince and become the royal consort.”
Dogday nods. “Got it.”
Once he fills out his information, he waits in line again, turning his signup sheet back in, then leaves, feeling confident.
That night, he returns to the palace and fills his beloved prince in on the plan.
Catnap is happy, and promises to choose him.
A few days later, Dogday receives a letter from the Lunarian game planners that the prince had chosen him as one of the 8 contestants, and he was entered into the tournament.
He hugs the letter happily. “YES!”
As he goes to sleep that night, he’s super happy, knowing that his and his beloved will soon be together forever.
~Transition to game day because the preamble has gone on long enough~
Finally, it was the day of the Lunarian games.
Dogday and the 7 other contestants were in the waiting room, waiting to go out and be introduced to the arena of citizens, who all came out to see them battle to the not-death for the hand of their prince in royal marriage.
Looking around, Dogday could see that of the 8 contestants, 4 were guys, including himself, and the other 4 were girls.
There was him, a green alligator, a scruffy looking rat, and one of his village friends, Kickin.
The girls consisted of a black sheep, a petit looking grey mouse, a pink cat with a yellow bow, and another of his village friends, Bobby.
He knew Catnap had probably chosen the other 7 at random, but still, what are the chances he’d pick 2 people that Dogday just so happened to be friends with?
He was nervous as the gates opened, the announcer saying,
“And now, hand-chosen by our beloved prince, please welcome the 8 contestants of the Lunarian games!”
Dogday takes a deep breath, following everyone else as they stepped out into the arena, the crowd cheering for them.
He smiles, seeing all the people clapping and cheering, feeling encouraged.
“Without further ado, let’s meet today’s contestants!”
The announcer says.
“First up, all the way from marshtomp bayou, is Allister Gator!”
The green alligator steps up onto the platform, giving the crowd a big toothy grin.
“Second, we have Baba Chops!”
The black sheep groans at hearing her name, stepping up onto the platform and standing beside Allister.
“Next up, all the way from Paradise City, please welcome Toullie!”
The scruffy looking rat steps onto the platform, inviting applause from the crowd.
“Next up, also from Paradise City, Molly Whiskers!”
The grey mouse steps up onto the platform beside Toullie, and the two smile, fist bumping.
‘Huh, they must be related.’
Dogday thinks.
“Next up, is Cutie Kitty!”
The pink cat with the yellow bow steps up onto the platform, smiling and waving at the crowd.
(I don’t know the actual name of the cat that appears in all the ‘Catnap’s girlfriend’ content farm thumbnails- feel free to correct me)
“Almost done now, give a big cheer for Kickin Chicken!”
Kickin steps up onto the platform, making finger guns at the crowd.
“And after him, Bobby Bearhug!”
Bobby stands beside Kickin, blowing kisses to the crowd.
Dogday smiles.
‘They haven’t changed a bit.’
“And last but not least…”
The announcer says. “A member of the palace staff, our very own Dogday!”
Dogday takes a breath, stepping up onto the platform and standing next to Bobby, waving to the crowd, who was still cheering for him.
Looking over to the royal viewing box, Dogday spots his kitty, smiling and waving a bit.
Catnap blushes, waving back and blowing him a few kisses.
Dogday giggles, knowing he was giving him luck.
For the first event, the mind games, they were separated into groups of 2.
Bobby was against Babs, Kickin was against Toullie, Molly was against Kitty, and Dogday was against Allister.
They sat at a little table while one of the palace staff had a list of questions that they were going to ask the contestants, and a scoreboard to keep track of the points.
Dogday was sitting on the other side of Allister, both of them having two buzzers in front of them.
The referee looked at them.
“Okay gentlemen, the first one to get 3 questions right wins the round.”
She says. “Got it?”
Dogday and Allister both nod.
“Good.”
She says.
When the starting bell rang, the ref looked at her list of questions.
“When is the prince’s birthday?”
Dogday tried to answer, but Allister was faster.
He chimes in, pressing his buzzer.
“I know that one! It’s November 11th!”
He says.
The referee smiles. “Correct!”
She says, putting a tally mark under his name.
Dogday grumbles a bit.
The ref looks back at her question list.
“Okay, next question.”
“What is the prince’s favorite food?”
Allister looks confused. “Uhhh…”
Dogday hits the buzzer.
“Salmon risotto!”
The ref nods. “Correct!”
She puts a tally mark under Dogday’s name.
Dogday smiles.
“Next question.”
The ref says. “Why is the prince’s nickname “Moonlight?”
Allister buzzes in.
“Um… because his fur turns blue?”
The ref shakes her head. “I'm sorry, but that’s incorrect.”
Allister hits the table. “Darn…”
Dogday buzzes in with his answer.
“It’s because when he was little, he loved to play in the moonlight that shone through his window.”
The ref nods. “Correct!”
She puts another tally under Dogday’s name.
Dogday beams.
“Next question.”
The ref says.
“If the prince were an ice cream flavor, what flavor would he be?”
Allister was quick to buzz. “Honey lavender!”
The ref nods. “Correct!”
She says, putting another tally under Allister’s name and tying up the score.
Dogday facepalms.
“Alright guys, last question.”
The ref says.
“What is the prince’s favorite activity to do in his free time?”
After a bit of thinking, both the guys hit their buzzers at the same time.
“Oh my, both of you?”
The ref says.
“Allister, what’s your answer?”
Allister smiles confidently.
“Writing poetry.”
The ref shakes her head. “I’m afraid that’s incorrect.”
Allister’s face falls.
“What!? I was sure that was right…”
The ref turns to Dogday. “And your answer”
Dogday smiles smugly.
“His favorite thing to do is to hang out with ME.”
The ref smiles and claps.
“That is 100% CORRECT!”
She says. “Dogday, you’re the winner of the first round!”
Dogday gets up, jumping in victory, while Allister sulks out, grumbling about how this show was rigged or whatever.
~mini transition~
After the results had been gathered, 4 of the 8 contestants had been eliminated, the ones who had absolutely zero chances.
For the second round, Dogday could see that Kickin was against Molly, and he was against Bobby.
They were both given 3 javelins, and told to stand about 50 feet away from the targets for safety, then throw them, one after the other, and the first one to hit the center of the target would win.
Bobby looked nervous, and Dogday was taking some deep breaths, preparing.
When the starting bell sounded, Dogday picked up his first javelin, aiming carefully at the target.
Running a few feet and stepping forward, he throws the javelin…
…and misses.
It lands off to the side.
“Dang it…”
He says as the crowd “awww's, disappointed.
He looks over to Bobby, who had just thrown her second javelin, and also missed.
Going back, Dogday takes a deep breath and picks up the second long, sharpened stick.
He runs forward, throws, and misses AGAIN.
“Seriously!?”
He heard Bobby say “Noooo!”
She’d missed her final javelin, burying her face in her hands.
As Dogday picked up his third and last one, he took some more deep breaths.
“Okay… focus…”
He says to himself. “Concentrate.”
He runs forward, and throws the javelin with less strength than he had before.
As the javelin flew through the air, Dogday was nervous, sweat dripping down his forehead.
But it hit right in the center of the target.
“Yes!”
Dogday says, jumping in victory.
“The winner of the second round is Dogday!”
The referee says as the crowd cheers.
“Dangit!”
Bobby says, stomping her foot. “I knew I should have practiced more…”
Dogday walks over, patting her gently on the shoulder.
“Hey, you did fine.” He says. “Better luck next time, okay?”
Bobby nods sadly. “Okay…”
She says, sadly walking out.
~Tense transition~
After getting the results, Kickin had won against Molly, who had conceded defeat and went home, sadly.
And since both the girls had been eliminated, the last round was just between Dogday and Kickin.
Before the match started, they were both getting ready for the big foam swordfight.
“So, it’s all come down to this, huh?”
Dogday says.
Kickin nods.
“Yup.” He says. “Just two friends, going head to head for the hand of the beautiful prince.”
Dogday nods. “Yes indeed.”
He walks over to him, offering a handshake.
“May the best critter win.”
Kickin accepts, shaking his hand. “Best of luck.”
Dogday smiles. “You too.”
The two take their swords, standing on opposite sides of the platform, waiting for the referee to sound the bell.
As soon as the bell rang, both of them started sword fighting.
Through lots of swinging, dodging, and blocking, it was a long and grueling battle, with both of them putting their all into their fighting.
(Listen, I'm not good at action scenes.)
When it was nearly over, they were both panting, still holding their swords.
“Give up?”
Kickin taunts.
Dogday shakes his head. “No, not until I've won.”
Kickin looks confused. “Uh, if you win then it’s not giving up-”
Dogday smiles. “Exactly.”
Kickin scoffs. “Whatever, just because you’ve known him for longer doesn’t mean-”
He barely dodges Dogday’s next strike.
“Doesn’t mean what!?”
He says, angrily.
Kickin backs up a bit.
“Uh, I mean…”
He snickers.
“Anyone would fall in love with him, right?”
Dogday growls.
“You know something Kickin… you may love him, but…”
In that moment of pure, heart-burning rage, he screams,
“YOU WILL NEVER LOVE HIM MORE THAN I DO!”
He swings with all his might, whacking Kickin in the face very hard with the foam sword, causing him to fall off the platform and land into the water.
“AND WE HAVE OUR WINNER!”
The announcer screams.
Dogday looks up, breathing heavily.
“I… I did it?”
Everyone in the crowd was cheering and throwing confetti on him.
Dogday smiles, feeling proud of himself.
And then he looks back to Catnap, who was happy crying.
He smiles, blowing a kiss to him happily.
‘I won it for you, my love…’
~Wedding petals transition~
That evening, in the royal courtyard, the entire palace staff and citizens of the kingdom had gathered to watch the royal wedding.
As Dogday stood at the altar, waiting for Catnap, he was dressed in a dapper silver and black suit, and he felt the happiest he had been since the night he and Catnap confessed their love for one another.
After today, he would no longer just be Catnap’s servant, he would be his husband, and the prince consort of the kingdom of Lunaris.
When the organ music started playing, everyone looked to the other end of the aisle.
There was Catnap, dolled up in a beautiful white and golden dress, holding a bouquet of sunflowers and smiling as bright as the full moon itself.
Dogday almost teared up from happiness when he saw him.
The soft piano music played as Catnap walked down the aisle, looking like the most beautiful creature in the universe.
When he reaches the end of the aisle, he hands his bouquet off to one of the maids, then stands across from Dogday, looking deeply into his eyes.
“Citizens of the kingdom of Lunaris.”
The priestess says.
“We are gathered here today to join our beloved prince Cathrinus, and the champion of the Lunarian games, Dogday, together in the bonds of royal marriage.”
She smiles. “I’m so glad you could all be here to witness this beautiful occasion.”
She then looks at the couple.
“Please join hands.”
Catnap gently takes Dogday’s hands, looking deeply into his eyes.
“Prince Cathrinus…”
The priestess said.
“Do you, future ruler of Lunaris, take your champion, to be your husband, in sickness and in health, to stand by your side, as long as you both shall live…?”
Catnap nods, happy tears in his eyes.
“I do.”
He says. “I accept him with all of my heart.”
The priestess then turns to Dogday.
“And do you, Dogday, champion of the Lunarian games, take your prince, to be your husband, in sickness and in health, to stand by your side, as long as you both shall live?”
Dogday nods happily.
“I do. I do until death do us part, and even after that.”
The priestess smiles.
“Well, with that, by the power vested in me by the great 1006, I now pronounce you…
Husband and, well, husband!”
She says with a giggle.
“You may kiss.”
As the two lovers shared a passionate kiss, the whole kingdom rejoiced, knowing the future of their beautiful land was in good hands, and the kingdom was destined to prosper.
That night, as the newly married couple lay down to sleep together, Catnap nuzzles Dogday’s cheek.
“I really wish that we could have told my parents I wanted to marry you first and foremost.”
He whispers. “That way we could have skipped the whole lunatic games nonsense.”
Dogday giggles. “Well, you know.”
He says. “I’m just glad I got to prove my love for you against those guys.”
He kisses his husband softly, before saying,
“None of them could ever love you as much as I do.”
Catnap purrs softly.
“And I'm so happy about that.”
The two cuddle happily, falling asleep in each other’s arms.
And they lived happily ever after.